North America

On May 9, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced a new final rule, to be published on May 11, 2022, expanding export controls against Russia under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). The final rule imposes a license requirement under 15 C.F.R § 746.5(a)(1)(ii) for exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) to or within Russia for additional items subject to the EAR identified under specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTS”) descriptions. The final rule adds 205 HTS codes at the 6-digit level (and descriptions) and 478 corresponding 10-digit Schedule B numbers (and descriptions) to the chart in Supplement No. 4 to Part 746.

On May 8, 2022, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a determination pursuant to Executive Order (“EO”) 14071. The determination specifies that the provision of the following activities to any person in Russia are prohibited: accounting services, trust and corporate formation services, and management consulting services. The prohibition takes effect on June 7, 2022 and does not apply to services provided to entities located in Russia owned or controlled by U.S. persons, or any services in connection with the wind down or divestiture of any entity in Russia not owned or controlled by a Russian person. The determination expands EO 14024 to prohibit such services. Read more…